The Best Questions to Ask an Interviewee: 43 Questions for Small Business Hiring Managers
43 interview questions to ask candidates grouped by type. Behavioral, situational, skill, and culture fit, with what to listen for and a scoring rubric.
Best Questions to Ask an Interviewee
43 questions grouped by behavioral, situational, skill-based, and cultural fit, with what to listen for and a simple scoring rubric
Most interview question lists give you 60 questions with no context for which ones to actually use. You do not need 60 questions. You need 5 to 7 good ones, asked to every candidate in the same order, with a clear understanding of what a strong answer sounds like vs a weak one.
This guide gives you 43 questions organized into 4 categories (behavioral, situational, skill-based, and cultural fit), with two things most lists skip: what to listen for in the answer and when the question is the wrong one to ask. It is written for small business owners and hiring managers who conduct interviews without an HR team, a recruiter, or interview training.
Why the Questions You Ask Determine the Quality of Your Hires
Research from SHRM shows that structured interviews (same questions, scored rubric) predict job performance roughly twice as well as unstructured conversations. The difference is not the interviewer's talent. It is the questions. Unstructured interviews produce gut-feel decisions. Structured questions produce comparable data.
For small businesses, the stakes are higher. A bad hire at a 500-person company is absorbed. A bad hire at a 15-person company costs 30 to 200% of their first-year salary in replacement costs and disrupts the entire team. Research from Gallup shows that only 12% of employees strongly agree their organization onboards well, meaning even good interview decisions are undermined by poor post-hire processes. The Work Institute reports that a significant portion of turnover happens in the first year, making the quality of your interview questions a direct predictor of retention costs. The recruitment costs guide covers the full cost breakdown.
The 4 Types of Interview Questions Every Hiring Manager Should Know
| Type | What It Tests | Example | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Behavioral | Past behavior in real situations (strongest predictor of future performance) | 'Tell me about a time you had to meet a tight deadline with limited resources.' | All roles. Use 3+ per interview. |
| Situational | Problem-solving approach to hypothetical scenarios | 'What would you do if a customer called with a complaint about a product you know nothing about?' | Roles requiring quick judgment (customer service, ops, management) |
| Skill-based | Specific technical or role-relevant abilities | 'Walk me through how you would build a monthly sales report from scratch.' | Technical, specialized, or senior roles |
| Culture fit / add | Values alignment, work style, communication preferences | 'Describe the work environment where you do your best work.' | All roles. Use 1-2 per interview. |
For a standard 45-minute interview at a small business: pick 3 behavioral questions, 1 to 2 situational, and 1 to 2 culture or skill questions. That gives you 5 to 7 total, with enough time for deep answers and follow-up questions. The interviewer guide covers how to structure the full 45 minutes.
15 Behavioral Questions to Ask an Interviewee
Behavioral questions start with "tell me about a time" and test real past experience. They are the strongest predictor of job performance because they reveal what the candidate has actually done, not what they claim they would do. Use the STAR framework to evaluate: did the answer include a specific Situation, Task, Action, and Result?
| # | Question | What to Listen For |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tell me about a time you had to meet a tight deadline with limited resources. | Specific actions they took, not vague 'I worked hard.' Bonus: they mention trade-offs they made. |
| 2 | Describe a situation where you disagreed with your manager or a coworker. How did you handle it? | They address it directly (not avoidance). They show respect for the other perspective. Result was constructive. |
| 3 | Tell me about a time you made a mistake at work. What happened? | They own the mistake (no blame-shifting). They explain what they learned. They describe what they changed. |
| 4 | Give me an example of a time you had to learn something new quickly. | Speed of learning matters less than approach. Did they ask for help? Use resources? Apply it successfully? |
| 5 | Tell me about a time you went above expectations for a customer or colleague. | Specific, not generic. 'I stayed late to fix an order' beats 'I always give 110%.' |
| 6 | Describe a project you are most proud of. What was your role? | They can articulate their specific contribution vs the team's. They describe impact, not just effort. |
| 7 | Tell me about a time you had to prioritize multiple competing tasks. | They explain their prioritization method, not just that they 'handled it.' Did they communicate trade-offs? |
| 8 | Give me an example of receiving critical feedback. How did you respond? | They accepted it constructively. They describe a behavior change, not just 'I took it well.' |
| 9 | Tell me about a time you had to work with someone whose style was very different from yours. | Adaptability. They adjusted their approach rather than forcing the other person to change. |
| 10 | Describe a time you had to explain something complex to someone without technical knowledge. | Clarity. They simplified without condescending. The other person understood. |
| 11 | Tell me about a time you failed to meet a goal. What happened next? | Honest self-assessment. They distinguish between factors in their control and outside it. |
| 12 | Give me an example of a decision you made with incomplete information. | They describe how they managed uncertainty. Did they seek more data, make assumptions explicit, or take calculated risk? |
| 13 | Tell me about a time you had to say no to a request from a manager or a client. | They pushed back respectfully with a reason, not just compliance or defiance. |
| 14 | Describe the most stressful period in your career. How did you manage it? | Concrete coping strategies, not 'I handle stress well.' Did they maintain quality under pressure? |
| 15 | Tell me about a time you identified a problem before anyone asked you to fix it. | Initiative and ownership. They did not wait to be told. They took action proactively. |
10 Situational Questions for Small Business Hiring Managers
Situational questions present a hypothetical scenario and ask the candidate how they would handle it. They test problem-solving, judgment, and decision-making. Tailor these to your actual business. Generic scenarios produce generic answers.
| # | Question | What to Listen For |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | What would you do if you realized you could not finish an assigned task by the deadline? | They communicate early (not at the deadline). They propose alternatives or ask for help. |
| 2 | How would you handle a situation where a coworker was not doing their share of a project? | They address it with the person directly before escalating. Small teams need direct communication. |
| 3 | If a customer called with a complaint about something outside your area, what would you do? | They own the experience (not 'that is not my department'). They find the right person to help. |
| 4 | What would you do if you were given two conflicting instructions from two different managers? | They clarify, not guess. They ask which takes priority rather than choosing silently. |
| 5 | How would you approach your first week if there was no formal training plan? | Self-direction. They describe what they would do to get up to speed without being hand-held. |
| 6 | What would you do if you noticed a process that could be done more efficiently? | They raise it constructively. They understand new employees should observe before recommending changes. |
| 7 | If you made an error that affected a customer, how would you handle it? | They acknowledge the error to the customer, fix it, and report it internally. No hiding. |
| 8 | How would you prioritize your day if you had 5 tasks due and only time for 3? | They distinguish urgent from important. They communicate about what will not get done. |
| 9 | What would you do if you disagreed with a company policy but were required to follow it? | They follow it while raising concerns through appropriate channels. Not sabotage, not silent compliance. |
| 10 | If you were hired and realized after 2 weeks that the job was different from what you expected, what would you do? | They communicate the gap to their manager (not silently quit). They describe how they would adapt or resolve it. |
For small businesses: questions 5 and 6 are particularly revealing. A 15-person company rarely has formal training programs or documented processes. Candidates who need both to function will struggle. Candidates who take initiative and observe before acting thrive. The skills-based hiring guide covers how to evaluate ability directly instead of relying on credentials.
10 Skill-Based Questions (Customize by Role)
Skill-based questions test specific abilities the role requires. These should change for every role. A customer service hire gets different skill questions than a bookkeeper. The template below gives you the structure. Replace the bracketed role with your actual position.
| # | Question | What to Listen For |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Walk me through how you would [core task of the role] from start to finish. | They describe a real process with steps, not a vague overview. Depth = experience. |
| 2 | What tools or software have you used for [key responsibility]? What do you like and dislike about them? | Opinions about tools signal real usage. 'I used Excel' is shallow. 'I used Excel for X but it breaks when Y' is deep. |
| 3 | What is the most complex [skill-related task] you have completed? Walk me through it. | Complexity matches or exceeds what your role requires. Ask follow-up questions about specific decisions. |
| 4 | If I gave you [specific assignment from the role], how would you approach it? | They ask clarifying questions before diving in. Immediate, confident answers without questions often mean they have not thought deeply. |
| 5 | What is a common mistake people make when doing [core function of the role]? | They can name a real mistake and explain why it happens. This shows expertise, not just familiarity. |
| 6 | How do you stay current with changes in [relevant industry, tool, or regulation]? | Specific sources (publications, communities, courses), not 'I read articles online.' |
| 7 | Describe how you would handle [specific challenging scenario from the role]. | They break the problem into steps. They identify what information they need. They do not pretend to have all the answers. |
| 8 | What would you do on Day 1 if you were starting this role right now? | They describe learning actions (meeting the team, understanding current state) not performing actions (changing things immediately). |
| 9 | Tell me about a time you had to [specific skill] under pressure or with a tight timeline. | Behavioral-skill hybrid. Tests the skill AND stress tolerance simultaneously. |
| 10 | What is one thing you would want to learn or improve in this role? | Self-awareness about growth areas. 'Nothing, I am fully qualified' is a red flag. |
The interview questions guide has 50+ additional questions organized by role type and seniority.
8 Culture Fit Questions for Small Business Teams
Culture fit questions assess whether the candidate's work style, communication preferences, and values align with how your team actually operates. At a 15-person company, one person who clashes with the team's working style affects everyone. The cultural fit interview questions guide has 30 questions with culture-add reframes.
| # | Question | What to Listen For |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Describe the work environment where you do your best work. | Their ideal should match your reality. If they need quiet and you have an open office, flag it. |
| 2 | How do you prefer to receive feedback: in the moment, in a scheduled meeting, or in writing? | Their preference should be workable for you. If they need weekly scheduled feedback and you give it ad-hoc, discuss the gap. |
| 3 | What management style brings out your best performance? | Match to your actual style. If they want daily check-ins and you manage weekly, one of you will be frustrated. |
| 4 | Tell me about the best team you have ever worked on. What made it work? | The qualities they describe should exist (or be buildable) at your company. |
| 5 | What would make you leave a job you otherwise enjoyed? | Their deal-breakers should not be things your company does. This is the most revealing culture question. |
| 6 | How do you handle working on tasks that are not part of your job description? | Critical for small businesses where everyone wears multiple hats. Resistance to scope flexibility is a mismatch. |
| 7 | What motivates you beyond compensation? | Their motivation should match what you can offer: learning, impact, autonomy, creative freedom. |
| 8 | How do you handle ambiguity when priorities change quickly? | Essential for small businesses. If they need stable, well-defined work and your priorities shift weekly, that is data. |
Questions You Should Never Ask an Interviewee
Under SHRM and EEOC guidelines, interview questions must be job-related and consistent across candidates. Questions that reveal protected characteristics (age, family status, religion, national origin, disability) are not just risky. They are illegal to use in hiring decisions.
| Never Ask | Why | Ask Instead |
|---|---|---|
| How old are you? When did you graduate? | Age discrimination (ADEA) | Do you have X years of experience with [specific skill]? |
| Do you have children? Are you planning to start a family? | Family status / pregnancy discrimination | This role requires [schedule]. Can you meet that commitment? |
| Where are you originally from? | National origin discrimination | Are you authorized to work in the US? |
| What church do you attend? What holidays do you observe? | Religious discrimination | This role occasionally requires weekend or holiday work. Is that possible? |
| Do you have any health conditions or disabilities? | ADA violation | Can you perform the essential functions of this role with or without reasonable accommodation? |
| What is your current salary? | Salary history bans (22+ states) | What are your salary expectations for this role? |
| Have you ever been arrested? | Arrest record protections (many states) | Have you been convicted of a crime relevant to this role? (Only if legally permitted in your state) |
The HR rules and regulations guide covers the full EEOC framework. The practical rule: if a question tells you more about who the candidate is than how they work, remove it.
How to Score Answers: A Simple Rubric for Small Businesses
Asking good questions is half the process. Evaluating the answers consistently is the other half. Without a scoring method, you will hire the person you "clicked with," which usually means the person who reminded you of yourself.
| Score | What It Means | Example (for a behavioral question) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 - Poor | Did not answer the question, or gave a vague, generic response | 'I always handle conflict well' (no specific example, no detail) |
| 2 - Weak | Gave a partial answer but lacked specifics or self-awareness | 'I had a disagreement with a coworker once and we worked it out' (no process, no outcome) |
| 3 - Acceptable | Provided a relevant example with some detail, but missing depth | 'I disagreed with my manager about the timeline, so I showed them the data and we compromised' (decent but shallow) |
| 4 - Strong | Clear STAR response with specific situation, action, and result | 'On the Q3 project, my manager wanted to launch in 2 weeks. I pulled the QA data showing 14 open bugs, proposed a 3-week timeline with a phased rollout, and we shipped on time with zero critical issues.' |
| 5 - Exceptional | Strong answer plus self-awareness, learning, or impact beyond the immediate situation | Same as 4, plus: 'After that, I started building QA checkpoints into every project timeline, which reduced our average launch delay by 40% over the next year.' |
Score each answer immediately after the candidate responds (during the interview or within 5 minutes of ending). Compare total scores across candidates after all interviews are done. If two candidates score within 2 points of each other, use a follow-up reference check as the tiebreaker, not your gut feeling. The structured interview guide covers the complete scoring methodology.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best questions to ask an interviewee?
The best questions test specific, job-relevant competencies and produce answers you can compare across candidates. Behavioral questions ('Tell me about a time you...') are the strongest predictor of job performance because they test real past experience rather than improvised hypotheticals. Start with 3 behavioral questions, add 1-2 situational questions for the specific role, and finish with 1-2 culture fit questions. Ask every candidate the same questions in the same order.
What are good questions to ask a job candidate with no experience?
For candidates without professional experience (first job, career changers, recent graduates), replace experience-based questions with transferable-skill questions. Instead of 'Tell me about a time you managed a project at work,' ask 'Tell me about something you organized from start to finish, whether at school, in a volunteer role, or personally.' Test adaptability ('How do you approach learning something you have never done before?'), work ethic ('Describe the hardest thing you have accomplished'), and motivation ('What specifically about this role interests you?').
How many questions should I ask in one interview?
Five to seven questions in a 45-minute interview. This gives each answer 5-7 minutes of discussion time, which is enough to get past surface-level responses. Asking 15+ questions turns the interview into rapid-fire Q&A where no answer gets enough depth to evaluate. If you have more questions than time, split them between a phone screen (logistics, salary, availability) and the formal interview (behavioral, situational, culture).
What questions should employers avoid during an interview?
Under EEOC guidelines, do not ask about age, marital status, children, pregnancy, religion, national origin, disability, arrests, or salary history (in 22+ states). The test: if the question would produce different answers based on a protected characteristic, do not ask it. Common violations that feel like small talk: 'Do you have kids?' (family status), 'Where are you originally from?' (national origin), 'When did you graduate?' (age proxy). Every question should test a job-related competency.
What is the difference between behavioral and situational questions?
Behavioral questions ask about the past: 'Tell me about a time you dealt with a difficult coworker.' They test what the candidate has actually done. Situational questions ask about the future: 'What would you do if a customer complained about a late delivery?' They test how the candidate thinks through problems. Research shows behavioral questions are stronger predictors of job performance because past behavior predicts future behavior better than hypothetical reasoning. Use both, but weight behavioral questions more heavily.
Should I tell the candidate the questions in advance?
No for most roles. The value of interview questions is seeing how someone thinks on their feet and recalls real experiences. If you send questions in advance, you test preparation ability, not competency. The exception: technical or presentation-based interviews where you want the candidate to prepare a work sample. In that case, send the assignment in advance but keep the discussion questions for the live conversation.
How do I know if an interviewee is giving honest answers?
Three signals of genuine answers: specificity (they name the project, the team size, the outcome with numbers), self-awareness (they acknowledge what they did wrong, not just what went right), and consistency (the story holds up when you ask follow-up questions about details). Red flags for rehearsed or dishonest answers: vague generalities ('I always handle conflict well'), refusal to discuss failures ('I cannot think of a time I made a mistake'), and stories that sound too perfect (no setbacks, no learning, just success).
What makes a bad interview question?
Bad interview questions are either irrelevant (do not test a job-related skill), leading (signal the 'right' answer), or illegal (test a protected characteristic). Examples: 'What is your greatest weakness?' (rehearsed, produces nothing useful), 'Would you say you are a team player?' (leading: no one says no), 'Where do you see yourself in 10 years?' (irrelevant for most roles, produces rehearsed ambition). Replace these with behavioral questions that test the specific skills the role requires.